Recent news from Ireland Online (3/5/06): "...Australia has deals with 19 countries allowing people to visit and work on a one-year visa provided they do not have the same job for more than three months. But from July, the government is doubling the length of time they can stay with an employer, immigration minister Amanda Vanstone says.“These changes will be a win-win situation for employers and working holidaymakers and will help boost the Australian economy,” Vanstone, said.Also from July, backpackers who work in industries such as fishing, pearling, sheep shearing, butchery and forestry, will also be able to apply for a 12-month extension once their visas expire.“This will be a major boost to rural and regional industries, particularly those who are heavy users of backpacker labour to meet seasonal workloads,” Vanstone said.Australia has working holiday visa agreements with Ireland; the UK; Canada; the Netherlands; Japan; South Korea; Malta; Germany; Denmark; Sweden; Norway; Hong Kong; Finland; Cyprus; France; Italy; Belgium; Estonia; and Taiwan.The working holiday scheme has grown from fewer than 50,000 people a year in the mid 1990s to more than 104,000 in 2004, according to government figures." The full article can be found at:http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=181389756&p=y8y39x46z A similar article on the same topic produced by the Sydney Morning Herald reads:"...The backpacker invasion is coming to the tough workplaces of outback Australia. They will get a year's extension on their working holiday visas - drawing out their stays to two years - if they put in at least three months in specified industries.But there's a couple of catches.First, the specified industries are at the exacting end of the work scale. The scheme began last year with fruit picking and was yesterday extended to shearing, pearling, fishing, butchery and forestry.Second, there's a difference between a change of rules and a change of expectation."It's bloody ridiculous," said Sam Beechey, from the shearers' union, the Australian Workers Union. "There's no place in a shed for anyone not competent. You've got to be quick on your feet and alert. It takes up to three years to prepare a proficient shearer."Farmers, too, are unlikely to trust untried shearers, showing a preference for South African shearing teams working on local rates six times what they would make back home.But there are more tasks in skinning a sheep than shears alone. There are about 6000 shearers in Australia and a similar number of other team members - from rouseabouts to wool classers, pressers and cooks.Backpackers who meet the qualifications will be able to apply from July for visa extensions.The Immigration Minister, Amanda Vanstone, said yesterday the liberalised rules had worked well in fruit harvesting, with 1000 visitors applying in November and December to stay a second year.In other changes, backpackers will be permitted to work six months for an employer, instead of the present three months, and to study in Australia for four months, instead of three."The full article can be found at: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/click-go-the-cheers-boys-now-backpackers-will-be-living-offsheeps-back/2006/05/03/1146335804534.html
